Introducing Milk (dairy)

First serve

A small spoonful of plain, whole-milk yogurt (unsweetened, pasteurized) offered on its own or stirred into a fruit puree the baby already knows.

Build up like this:

Day 1: a small taste (about ¼ teaspoon of plain whole-milk yogurt) mixed into a familiar food, early in the day; watch for 2 hours.
If no reaction, repeat with a slightly larger amount over the next several days.
Build to a regular serving — a few tablespoons of yogurt, or a small piece of pasteurized cheese once texture skills allow.

Then keep it going: Once tolerated, keep dairy foods like yogurt or cheese in the rotation at least twice a week so the exposure stays consistent.

What a reaction can look like

• Hives, welts, or redness around the mouth soon after eating
• Vomiting within about 2 hours; swelling of lips or face
• Delayed GI patterns over hours to days — blood or mucus in stool, persistent diarrhea, unusual fussiness, or worsening eczema — the typical picture of cow's milk protein allergy (CMPA)
• Rarely, FPIES: repetitive, profuse vomiting starting 1–4 hours after the meal, sometimes with lethargy or pallor — milk is one of the more common FPIES triggers

Trouble breathing, tongue or lip swelling, widespread hives with vomiting, or a pale, floppy baby means call 911 now. See the emergency guide.

Good to know

• Cow's milk as a drink waits until 12 months (it displaces breast milk or formula and is low in iron), but yogurt and cheese as foods are fine from around 6 months.
• Serve every new allergen early in the day so you can observe for the next 2 hours, and introduce one new allergen at a time with about 3 days before the next one.

Foods that deliver it